May 18, 2020
The novel coronavirus (COVID-19) is a respiratory disease that can result in serious illness or death. It is caused by a new strain of coronavirus not previously identified in humans and easily spread from person to person. There is currently no approved vaccine or antiviral treatment for this disease.
On March 10, 2020, the Department of Health and Human Services identified the first two presumptive-positive cases of COVID-19 in Michigan. On that same day, I issued Executive Order 2020-4. This order declared a state of emergency across the state of Michigan under section 1 of article 5 of the Michigan Constitution of 1963, the Emergency Management Act, 1976 PA 390, as amended, MCL 30.401 et seq., and the Emergency Powers of the Governor Act of 1945, 1945 PA 302, as amended, MCL 10.31 et seq.
Since then, the virus spread across Michigan, bringing deaths in the thousands, confirmed cases in the tens of thousands, and deep disruption to this state’s economy, homes, and educational, civic, social, and religious institutions. On April 1, 2020, in response to the widespread and severe health, economic, and social harms posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, I issued Executive Order 2020-33. This order expanded on Executive Order 2020-4 and declared both a state of emergency and a state of disaster across the State of Michigan under section 1 of article 5 of the Michigan Constitution of 1963, the Emergency Management Act, and the Emergency Powers of the Governor Act of 1945. And on April 30, 2020, finding that COVID-19 had created emergency and disaster conditions across the State of Michigan, I issued Executive Order 2020-67 to continue the emergency declaration under the Emergency Powers of the Governor Act, as well as Executive Order 2020-68 to issue new emergency and disaster declarations under the Emergency Management Act.
The Emergency Management Act vests the governor with broad powers and duties to “cop[e] with dangers to this state or the people of this state presented by a disaster or emergency,” which the governor may implement through “executive orders, proclamations, and directives having the force and effect of law.” MCL 30.403(1)-(2). Similarly, the Emergency Powers of the Governor Act of 1945 provides that, after declaring a state of emergency, “the governor may promulgate reasonable orders, rules, and regulations as he or she considers necessary to protect life and property or to bring the emergency situation within the affected area under control.” MCL 10.31(1).
To suppress the spread of COVID-19, to prevent the state’s health care system from being overwhelmed, to allow time for the production of critical test kits, ventilators, and personal protective equipment, to establish the public health infrastructure necessary to contain the spread of infection, and to avoid needless deaths, it is reasonable and necessary to direct residents to remain at home or in their place of residence to the maximum extent feasible. To that end, on March 23, 2020, I issued Executive Order 2020-21, ordering all people in Michigan to stay home and stay safe. In Executive Orders 2020-42, 2020-59, 2020-70, and 2020-77, I extended that initial order, modifying its scope as needed and appropriate to match the ever-changing circumstances presented by this pandemic.
The measures put in place by these executive orders have been effective: the number of new confirmed cases each day has started to drop. Although the virus remains aggressive and persistent—on May 17, 2020, Michigan reported 51,142 confirmed cases and 4,891 deaths—the strain on our health care system has begun to relent, even as our testing capacity has increased. We have now begun the process of gradually resuming in-person work and activities that were temporarily suspended under my prior orders. In so doing, however, we must move with care, patience, and vigilance, recognizing the grave harm that this virus continues to inflict on our state and how quickly our progress in suppressing it can be undone.
In particular, businesses must do their part to protect their employees, their patrons, and their communities. Many businesses have already done so by implementing robust safeguards to prevent viral transmission. But we can and must do more: no one should feel unsafe at work. With this order, I am creating an enforceable set of workplace standards that apply to all businesses across the state. These standards will have the force and effect of agency rules and will be vigorously enforced by the agencies that oversee compliance with other health-and-safety rules. Any failure to abide by the rules will also constitute a failure to provide a workplace that is free from recognized hazards within the meaning of the Michigan Occupational Safety and Health Act, MCL 408.1011.
Acting under the Michigan Constitution of 1963 and Michigan law, I order the following:
1. All businesses or operations that are permitted to require their employees to leave the homes or residences for work under Executive Order 2020-92, and any order that follows it, must, at a minimum:
(a) Develop a COVID-19 preparedness and response plan, consistent with recommendations in Guidance on Preparing Workplaces for COVID-19, developed by the Occupational Health and Safety Administration and available here. By June 1, 2020, or within two weeks of resuming in-person activities, whichever is later, a business’s or operation’s plan must be made readily available to employees, labor unions, and customers, whether via website, internal network, or by hard copy.
(b) Designate one or more worksite supervisors to implement, monitor, and report on the COVID-19 control strategies developed under subsection (a). The supervisor must remain on-site at all times when employees are present on site. An on-site employee may be designated to perform the supervisory role.
(c) Provide COVID-19 training to employees that covers, at a minimum:
(1) Workplace infection-control practices.
(2) The proper use of personal protective equipment.
(3) Steps the employee must take to notify the business or operation of any symptoms of COVID-19 or a suspected or confirmed diagnosis of COVID-19.
(4) How to report unsafe working conditions.
(d) Conduct a daily entry self-screening protocol for all employees or contractors entering the workplace, including, at a minimum, a questionnaire covering symptoms and suspected or confirmed exposure to people with possible COVID-19.
(e) Keep everyone on the worksite premises at least six feet from one another to the maximum extent possible, including through the use of ground markings, signs, and physical barriers, as appropriate to the worksite.
(f) Provide non-medical grade face coverings to their employees, with supplies of N95 masks and surgical masks reserved, for now, for health care professionals, first responders (e.g., police officers, fire fighters, paramedics), and other critical workers.
(g) Require face coverings to be worn when employees cannot consistently maintain six feet of separation from other individuals in the workplace, and consider face shields when employees cannot consistently maintain three feet of separation from other individuals in the workplace.
(h) Increase facility cleaning and disinfection to limit exposure to COVID-19, especially on high-touch surfaces (e.g., door handles), paying special attention to parts, products, and shared equipment (e.g., tools, machinery, vehicles).
(i) Adopt protocols to clean and disinfect the facility in the event of a positive COVID-19 case in the workplace.
(j) Make cleaning supplies available to employees upon entry and at the worksite and provide time for employees to wash hands frequently or to use hand sanitizer.
(k) When an employee is identified with a confirmed case of COVID-19, within 24 hours, notify both:
(1) The local public health department, and
(2) Any co-workers, contractors, or suppliers who may have come into contact with the person with a confirmed case of COVID-19.
(l) Follow Executive Order 2020-36, and any executive orders that follow it, that prohibit discharging, disciplining, or otherwise retaliating against employees who stay home or who leave work when they are at particular risk of infecting others with COVID-19.
(m) Establish a response plan for dealing with a confirmed infection in the workplace, including protocols for sending employees home and for temporary closures of all or part of the worksite to allow for deep cleaning.
(n) Restrict business-related travel for employees to essential travel only.
(o) Encourage employees to use personal protective equipment and hand sanitizer on public transportation.
(p) Promote remote work to the fullest extent possible.
(q) Adopt any additional infection-control measures that are reasonable in light of the work performed at the worksite and the rate of infection in the surrounding community.
2. Businesses or operations whose work is primarily and traditionally performed outdoors must:
(a) Prohibit gatherings of any size in which people cannot maintain six feet of distance from one another.
(b) Limit in-person interaction with clients and patrons to the maximum extent possible, and bar any such interaction in which people cannot maintain six feet of distance from one another.
(c) Provide and require the use of personal protective equipment such as gloves, goggles, face shields, and face coverings, as appropriate for the activity being performed.
(d) Adopt protocols to limit the sharing of tools and equipment to the maximum extent possible and to ensure frequent and thorough cleaning and disinfection of tools, equipment, and frequently touched surfaces.
3. Businesses or operations in the construction industry must:
(a) Conduct a daily entry screening protocol for employees, contractors, suppliers, and any other individuals entering a worksite, including a questionnaire covering symptoms and suspected or confirmed exposure to people with possible COVID-19, together with, if possible, a temperature screening.
(b) Create dedicated entry point(s) at every worksite, if possible, for daily screening as provided in sub-provision (b) of this section, or in the alternative issue stickers or other indicators to employees to show that they received a screening before entering the worksite that day.
(c) Provide instructions for the distribution of personal protective equipment and designate on-site locations for soiled face coverings.
(d) Require the use of work gloves where appropriate to prevent skin contact with contaminated surfaces.
(e) Identify choke points and high-risk areas where employees must stand near one another (such as hallways, hoists and elevators, break areas, water stations, and buses) and control their access and use (including through physical barriers) so that social distancing is maintained.
(f) Ensure there are sufficient hand-washing or hand-sanitizing stations at the worksite to enable easy access by employees.
(g) Notify contractors (if a subcontractor) or owners (if a contractor) of any confirmed COVID-19 cases among employees at the worksite.
(h) Restrict unnecessary movement between project sites.
(i) Create protocols for minimizing personal contact upon delivery of materials to the worksite.
4. Manufacturing facilities must:
(a) Conduct a daily entry screening protocol for employees, contractors, suppliers, and any other individuals entering the facility, including a questionnaire covering symptoms and suspected or confirmed exposure to people with possible COVID-19, together with temperature screening as soon as no-touch thermometers can be obtained.
(b) Create dedicated entry point(s) at every facility for daily screening as provided in sub-provision (a) of this section, and ensure physical barriers are in place to prevent anyone from bypassing the screening.
(c) Suspend all non-essential in-person visits, including tours.
(d) Train employees on, at a minimum:
(1) Routes by which the virus causing COVID-19 is transmitted from person to person.
(2) Distance that the virus can travel in the air, as well as the time it remains viable in the air and on environmental surfaces.
(3) The use of personal protective equipment, including the proper steps for putting it on and taking it off.
(e) Reduce congestion in common spaces wherever practicable by, for example, closing salad bars and buffets within cafeterias and kitchens, requiring individuals to sit at least six feet from one another, placing markings on the floor to allow social distancing while standing in line, offering boxed food via delivery or pick-up points, and reducing cash payments.
(f) Implement rotational shift schedules where possible (e.g., increasing the number of shifts, alternating days or weeks) to reduce the number of employees in the facility at the same time.
(g) Stagger meal and break times, as well as start times at each entrance, where possible.
(h) Install temporary physical barriers, where practicable, between work stations and cafeteria tables.
(i) Create protocols for minimizing personal contact upon delivery of materials to the facility.
(j) Adopt protocols to limit the sharing of tools and equipment to the maximum extent possible.
(k) Ensure there are sufficient hand-washing or hand-sanitizing stations at the worksite to enable easy access by employees, and discontinue use of hand dryers.
(l) Notify plant leaders and potentially exposed individuals upon identification of a positive case of COVID-19 in the facility, as well as maintain a central log for symptomatic employees or employees who received a positive test for COVID-19.
(m) Send potentially exposed individuals home upon identification of a positive case of COVID-19 in the facility.
(n) Require employees to self-report to plant leaders as soon as possible after developing symptoms of COVID-19.
(o) Shut areas of the manufacturing facility for cleaning and disinfection, as necessary, if an employee goes home because he or she is displaying symptoms of COVID-19.
5. Research laboratories, but not laboratories that perform diagnostic testing, must:
(a) Assign dedicated entry point(s) and/or times into lab buildings.
(b) Conduct a daily entry screening protocol for employees, contractors, suppliers, and any other individuals entering a worksite, including a questionnaire covering symptoms and suspected or confirmed exposure to people with possible COVID-19, together with, if possible, a temperature screening.
(c) Create protocols and/or checklists as necessary to conform to the facility’s COVID-19 preparedness and response plan under section 1(a).
(d) Suspend all non-essential in-person visitors (including visiting scholars and undergraduate students) until further notice.
(e) Establish and implement a plan for distributing face coverings.
(f) Limit the number of people per square feet of floor space permitted in a particular laboratory at one time.
(g) Close open workspaces, cafeterias, and conference rooms.
(h) As necessary, use tape on the floor to demarcate socially distanced workspaces and to create one-way traffic flow.
(i) Require all office and dry lab work to be conducted remotely.
(j) Minimize the use of shared lab equipment and shared lab tools and create protocols for disinfecting lab equipment and lab tools.
(k) Provide disinfecting supplies and require employees to wipe down their work stations at least twice daily.
(l) Implement an audit and compliance procedure to ensure that cleaning criteria are followed.
(m) Establish a clear reporting process for any symptomatic individual or any individual with a confirmed case of COVID-19, including the notification of lab leaders and the maintenance of a central log.
(n) Clean and disinfect the work site when an employee is sent home with symptoms or with a confirmed case of COVID-19.
(o) Send any potentially exposed co-workers home if there is a positive case in the facility.
(p) Restrict all non-essential travel, including in-person conference events
6. Retail stores that are open for in-store sales must:
(a) Create communications material for customers (e.g., signs or pamphlets) to inform them of changes to store practices and to explain the precautions the store is taking to prevent infection.
(b) Establish lines to regulate entry in accordance with subsection (c) of this section, with markings for patrons to enable them to stand at least six feet apart from one another while waiting. Stores should also explore alternatives to lines, including by allowing customers to wait in their cars for a text message or phone call, to enable social distancing and to accommodate seniors and those with disabilities.
(c) Adhere to the following restrictions:
(1) For stores of less than 50,000 square feet of customer floor space, must limit the number of people in the store (including employees) to 25% of the total occupancy limits established by the State Fire Marshal or a local fire marshal. Stores of more than 50,000 square feet must:
(A) Limit the number of customers in the store at one time (excluding employees) to 4 people per 1,000 square feet of customer floor space.
(2) The director of the Department of Health and Human Services is authorized to issue an emergency order varying the capacity limits described in this subsection as necessary to protect the public health.
(d) Post signs at store entrance(s) instructing customers of their legal obligation to wear a face covering when inside the store.
(e) Post signs at store entrance(s) informing customers not to enter if they are or have recently been sick.
(f) Design spaces and store activities in a manner that encourages employees and customers to maintain six feet of distance from one another.
(g) Install physical barriers at checkout or other service points that require interaction, including plexiglass barriers, tape markers, or tables, as appropriate.
(h) Establish an enhanced cleaning and sanitizing protocol for high-touch areas like restrooms, credit-card machines, keypads, counters, shopping carts, and other surfaces.
(i) Train employees on:
(1) Appropriate cleaning procedures, including training for cashiers on cleaning between customers.
(2) How to manage symptomatic customers upon entry or in the store.
(j) Notify employees if the employer learns that an individual (including a customer or supplier) with a confirmed case of COVID-19 has visited the store.
(k) Limit staffing to the minimum number necessary to operate.
7. Offices must:
(a) Assign dedicated entry point(s) for all employees to reduce congestion at the main entrance.
(b) Provide visual indicators of appropriate spacing for employees outside the building in case of congestion.
(c) Take steps to reduce entry congestion and to ensure the effectiveness of screening (e.g., by staggering start times, adopting a rotational schedule in only half of employees are in the office at a particular time).
(d) Require face coverings in shared spaces, including during in-person meetings and in restrooms and hallways.
(e) Increase distancing between employees by spreading out workspaces, staggering workspace usage, restricting non-essential common space (e.g., cafeterias), providing visual cues to guide movement and activity (e.g., restricting elevator capacity with markings, locking conference rooms).
(f) Turn off water fountains.
(g) Prohibit social gatherings and meetings that do not allow for social distancing or that create unnecessary movement through the office.
(h) Provide disinfecting supplies and require employees wipe down their work stations at least twice daily.
(i) Post signs about the importance of personal hygiene.
(j) Disinfect high-touch surfaces in offices (e.g., whiteboard markers, restrooms, handles) and minimize shared items when possible (e.g., pens, remotes, whiteboards).
(k) Institute cleaning and communications protocols when employees are sent home with symptoms.
(l) Notify employees if the employer learns that an individual (including a customer, supplier, or visitor) with a confirmed case of COVID-19 has visited the office.
(m) Suspend all nonessential visitors.
(n) Restrict all non-essential travel, including in-person conference events.
8. Restaurants and bars must:
(a) Limit capacity to 50% of normal seating.
(b) Require six feet of separation between parties or groups at different tables or bar tops (e.g., spread tables out, use every other table, remove or put up chairs or barstools that are not in use).
(c) Create communications material for customers (e.g., signs, pamphlets) to inform them of changes to restaurant or bar practices and to explain the precautions that are being taken to prevent infection.
(d) Close waiting areas and ask customers to wait in cars for a call when their table is ready.
(e) Close self-serve food or drink options, such as buffets, salad bars, and drink stations.
(f) Provide physical guides, such as tape on floors or sidewalks and signage on walls to ensure that customers remain at least six feet apart in any lines.
(g) Post sign(s) at store entrance(s) informing customers not to enter if they are or have recently been sick.
(h) Post sign(s) instructing customers to wear face coverings until they get to their table.
(i) Require hosts and servers to wear face coverings in the dining area.
(j) Require employees to wear face coverings and gloves in the kitchen area when handling food, consistent with guidelines from the Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”).
(k) Limit shared items for customers (e.g., condiments, menus) and clean high-contact areas after each customer (e.g., tables, chairs, menus, payment tools, condiments).
(l) Train employees on:
(1) Appropriate use of personal protective equipment in conjunction with food safety guidelines.
(2) Food safety health protocols (e.g., cleaning between customers, especially shared condiments).
(3) How to manage symptomatic customers upon entry or in the restaurant.
(m) Notify employees if the employer learns that an individual (including an employee, customer, or supplier) with a confirmed case of COVID-19 has visited the store.
(n) Close restaurant immediately if an employee shows multiple symptoms of COVID-19 (fever, atypical shortness of breath, atypical cough) and perform a deep clean, consistent with guidance from FDA and the Center for Disease Control. Such cleaning may occur overnight.
(o) Require a doctor’s written release to return to work if an employee has a confirmed case of COVID-19.
(p) Install physical barriers, such as sneeze guards and partitions at cash registers, bars, host stands, and other areas where maintaining physical distance of six feet is difficult.
(q) To the maximum extent possible, limit the number of employees in shared spaces, including kitchens, break rooms, and offices, to maintain at least a six-foot distance between employees.
9. Employers must maintain a record of the requirements set forth in Sections 1(c), (d), and (k).
10. The rules described in sections 1 through 9 have the force and effect of regulations adopted by the departments and agencies with responsibility for overseeing compliance with workplace health-and-safety standards and are fully enforceable by such agencies. Any challenge to penalties imposed by a department or agency for violating any of the rules described in sections 1 through 9 of this order will proceed through the same administrative review process as any challenge to a penalty imposed by the department or agency for a violation of its rules.
11. Any business or operation that violates the rules in sections 1 through 9 has failed to provide a place of employment that is free from recognized hazards that are causing, or are likely to cause, death or serious physical harm to an employee, within the meaning of the Michigan Occupational Safety and Health Act, MCL 408.1011.
12. Nothing in this order shall be taken to limit or affect any rights or remedies otherwise available under law.
Given under my hand and the Great Seal of the State of Michigan.
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